| |
| Railgun | |
| Production information | |
| Technical specifications | |
| Damage Per Hit |
|
| Maximum Ammunition |
50 rounds |
| Fire Mode |
Semi-automatic |
| Ammunition Type | |
| Rate of Fire |
38 shots per minute |
| Usage | |
| Era(s) | |
| [Source] | |
| “ | The Rail Gun fires depleted uranium slugs at super high velocities. Take note of the distinctive blue corkscrew trail of smoke caused by the projectile – or better yet, see how many scumbag Stroggs it goes through before it hits concrete. | ” |
—The Quake II Manual | ||
The Railgun is a weapon in Quake II that fires an extremely powerful slug at its target with sound-barrier breaking speeds. It is a hitscan weapon with pinpoint accuracy, striking its target immediately and accurately regardless of distance, and its range is effectively infinite. It has excellent damage per shot, higher than a direct hit from the Rocket Launcher or a full hit from the Super Shotgun. However, its main downside is its relatively slow rate of fire.
In the 2023 remaster, its damage per shot is reduced from 150 to 125. In the initial release of the remaster it was reduced to 100 to match its multiplayer damage, but the first patch increased it to 125 in response to community feedback.
Strategies[]
Single player[]
- Due to its many advantages, it is arguably the best weapon in the game in both single-player and multiplayer, even in the 2023 Remaster version in which its damage output was reduced. Its ability to strike a target instantly at any range with pinpoint accuracy makes it an invaluable weapon in a wide variety of combat scenarios. It is excellent for "peekaboo" attacks using cover, the player taking a shot and ducking behind cover to avoid return fire - even bosses make good targets for this strategy.
- Its damage of 125 damage per shot is enough to kill an Enforcer or Gekk, or anything weaker than that, in a single shot. Most mid-level Strogg such as Gunners, Icarus, Berserker or Stalker requires two shots. However, with the 2023 remaster, the number of shots required to kill the larger Strogg such as Gladiators and Tanks is increased. Nevertheless, it remains an ideal weapon for peekaboo attacks against these foes, or when continually strafing in the case of a Gladiator or other enemies that struggle to hit a player who is strafing.
- It is the ideal weapon to use against a monster that is not yet aware of the player's presence. Most weapons deliver double damage when striking an idle monster, and the Railgun's overall qualities make it very suitable for this purpose thanks to its hitscan nature and pinpoint accuracy at any range. Against an unaware Strogg it will deal 250 damage with its initial shot - enough to kill a Berserker, Stalker, Icarus or anything weaker.
- With quad damage you can kill a tank in 2 shots
- Though the Railgun has many advantages, its main weakness is its slow rate of fire and therefore it's important to make your shots count - and it's a good idea to use cover to avoid return fire as you reload. Its overall damage output with continuous fire is surpassed by many other weapons in Quake II, so in situations where you must face multiple foes without cover, for example, the Railgun might not be the best choice.
- While in principle the Railgun's ammo should be used somewhat sparingly so it's available for the more dangerous enemies, slugs are not all that uncommon (each pickup contains 10 slugs, which is a lot of damage potential, and they are sometimes dropped by Gladiators). It's not necessary the best pick against every Guard and Flyer you see, but don't shy away from using it against the tougher foes.
- As stated in the manual, the slug fired by a Railgun can drill its way through multiple enemies. You shouldn't go too far out of your way to try to achieve this, but if you are intent on shooting a high-priority target, you don't need to worry about a closer enemy blocking your shot. This is helpful against the Medic Commander, who can summon new Strogg into battle; if you're lining up a shot on the Medic Commander with the Railgun, your shot won't be blocked by a Guard suddenly appearing between you and your primary target.
- The Railgun is a good pick against bosses, despite having a lower overall damage output than many other weapons - its overall properties make a good choice with which to take your shot and then take cover to avoid the powerful return fire of a Hornet, Jorg and the Makron. Activating a Quad Damage is certainly worth considering to make these fights end more quickly.
Multiplayer[]
- The Railgun is the most useful weapon in MP. As stated earlier, it can take out an unarmored player in one shot. Being able to predict next move of opponent can turn you into an almost-unstoppable wrecking machine. Newly spawned players will drop in one shot, not even giving them the chance of retaliation.
- The Railgun is the perfect weapon for returning fire against other campers. Make sure they don't see or hear the humming sound of your Railgun otherwise they may run away and hide. Use height advantage and try to catch a glimpse of sight upon last important items such as Body Armor or Megahealth across hallways.
- When fighting against somebody that has a RG, you must move in an erratic pattern and be able to mix up your routine with different moves. If you keep repeating one pattern, they'll figure it out and tear you apart. If you let them get far away at the open, they will get the opportunity to shoot you down eventually. Try to crouch behind cover or height differences. A short stutter stepping, preferably doing zigzags then steering may help you at long range, at medium distance you may prefer circling them around and fake your move by a diagonal forward tap at the opposite direction.
- Upon facing a RG user, don't forget that you have a chance to attack without retaliation between their shots. So remember to shoot them as soon as they've fired. Using a weapon like the Hyperblaster or Chain Gun in short bursts is a good deterrent against a Railgun user. As they'll frequently move to dodge each barrage, in turn disrupting their aim. Yet that doesn't mean they can not take cover from the barrage to peekshot a second later however. Try to move in an erratic pattern while spraying the sightlines at enclosed areas.
- Against Railgun at enclosed spaces, some peek shot Rocket Launcher pre-fire at long ranges can ruin their movement frequency as well. Deny them from chasing with stray fire or explosives like cooked hand grenades to flush out low profile snipers at the open areas.
- At large areas or inside water however it's best to switch to a more suitable weapon like Chain Gun to choke them out or take cover yourself. As similar to swimming in the water if you corner jump with a semi-auto weapon like RL, odds are towards to catching a slug mid-air with your teeth unless RG bearer is close. Try a simpler approach like Shotgun if you wanna corner jump.
- Railgun is not an energy type weapon, that means as long as you have control over armor pickups in the map you always have a chance to retaliate. Doing silent deals with the enemy where you have pressure them at Hyperblaster and Megahealth but can also snatch armor pickups under their nose would be advantageous against a RG abuser. Sending them back to RG spawn will make them predictable.
Trivia[]
- The N64 version of the game features a railgun with a blue glow instead of orange like the PC and PS1 versions.
- The Railgun emits a constant sound while the player has it equipped, as does the BFG10k. It's not loud enough to alert nearby Strogg to your presence in single-player, thankfully.
Gallery[]
Quake II Manual photo
First person view
Rail Gun in game.
Strogg Railgun (Quake Champions)
